A new study shows a curcumin/fenugreek combination boosted the quality of life index in a study population suffering from work-related stress.

The study, which was conducted in India and published in the Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology​, used CurQfen, supplied by Akay Spiceceutical. The ingredient is a patent-pending blend of a stable curcuminoid and galactomannan compound (from fenugreek) that the supplier says has been designed for greater solubility and stability.

The researchers noted that the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), a US federal agency responsible for research into the prevention of work-related illnesses, has said that the rapidly changing nature of the workplace has resulted in rising levels of work-related stress including neurodegenerative disorders and cardiovascular disease. A key component of these illnesses is oxidative stress, they noted.

“Plant-derived dietary antioxidant phytochemicals (phytonutrients) play a vital role in the upregulation of the endogenous antioxidant defenses to maintain the cellular redox balance and to reduce the oxidative stress,”​ the researchers said.

Study details​

The researchers recruited 60 subjects experiencing significant occupational stress, mediated anxiety and fatigue as demonstrated by the psychometric evaluations and interview, and randomly assigned them to receive either CurQfen (500 mg x 2/day) or unformulated natural curcumin with 95% purity or placebo for 30 days. Results showed enhanced effect of CurQfen as compared to unformulated natural curcumin, with poor oral bioavailability. Detailed pharmacokinetics of each of the free curcuminoids (curcumin, DMC and BDMC) followed by both single dose (500 mg) and repeated dose (500 mg x 2/day for 30 days) was also investigated in the present study, which demonstrated 30-fold (single dose) and 39- fold (repeated dose) enhancement in free curcuminoids bioavailability. The beneficial effects of CurQfen was reported to be significant with increases in the activity of antioxidants including glutathione (GSH) of 77%, Glutathione peroxidase (GPx) of 70% in GPx, and Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) of 59.8%. On the other hand, lipid peroxidation decreased by 53.6%.

The participants were also evaluated via before and after the study on stress and quality of life factors by a psychologies via validated standard forms of Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-14), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and SF-36 health survey scales. SF-36 (The Health Institute, Boston, Mass) consisted of 36 questions on 8 aspects of the QoL. Perceived Stress Scale consisted of 14 questions related to the stress levels and its impact on daily life. Anxiety was measured using BAI scale, which has 21 items including the physiological and cognitive components of anxiety.

The researchers concluded that the CurQfen ingredient’s enhanced bioavailability resulted in reductions in both blood chemical stress markers and perceived psychological stress: “Repeated-dose administration of CGM for 30 days was found to have a profound effect upon the antioxidant defense and detoxification system as evidenced from the significant elevation in endogenous antioxidant defense markers and reduction in lipid peroxidation. A significant reduction in perceived stress, anxiety, and fatigue leading to better QoL was observed among the CGM group participants indicating the enhanced efficacy of bioavailable free curcuminoids,” ​they concluded.